A Game of Messed Up Poker
by MoMo the Mesh Monster
Summary: Persona 3. A little game of poker goes gangster style...


**Hello hello!! I came up with this idea while playing poker by myself (it's not as fun as it sounds, trust me). And then, it HIT me like a stick!! How would the Persona 3 characters be like in the days of gangsters???!!! So, that's how this was created. Mesh.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona 3 and all of its holy glory m(_ _)m**

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Four women entered the almost empty room. A lone figure sat in a black recliner. He barely moved his head as they entered the room. He nodded to them to take a seat. As the women sat down around the table, he took a sip from the alcohol that filled his glass. He pulled out a deck of playing cards. Removing the cigarette from his mouth, he spoke. "I'll deal. Any problems?" he demanded instead of asking. None of the women objected. "Good, I like the submissive type." He dealt seven cards to each person, including himself. "We all know what we're gambling for, right?"

The red head looked at the other women. "Of course, I wouldn't bet my life on this game if I didn't think I would win," she stated with an air of confidence. The man smirked. "You seem cocky," he shot back. "Confident, _not_ cocky," she sharply responded.

"Heh," huffed the brunette. "I'll gladly knock you off your high horse, Red." The red head shot her a glare. Not flinching, the brunette glared back. The man interrupted their showdown. "Save it for the game," he said calmly. "Unless, you wanna handle it outside while you two miss out on playing with the adults." The brunette growled, muttering under her breath.

The blonde shuffled awkwardly in her seat. "I must do this in order to accomplish my goal," she spoke to them monotonously. Everyone looked at her. "It's that important, huh? You must have some weird goal if all you want to do is win this poker game," said the man. The blonde stared at the table. Looking at him, she said, "It's much more than just a game to me."

Sitting quietly, the grey-haired amazon watched the others converse. After noticing that she hadn't said a word, the rest of the party looked at her. She met each one of the girls' eyes. "I want this just as badly as the rest of you do. I will win!" she exclaimed. The brunette nearly leaped out of her chair at the amazon. The man stood between the two. "Sit down," he said harshly. "Let's cut all this damn bickering and get to the actual game!"

**(the undramatized, non-gangster version – a.k.a. what actually happened)**

Four teenage girls entered the dormitory's lounge. A young man was sitting in a black recliner. He stood up when he heard them enter. "Hey," he casually said to the young women. Each responded in their own way. He sat back down in the chair as they placed their jackets on the coat rack. He took a sip of his soda, waiting for them to join him. After they seated themselves, he pulled his sucker out of his mouth and spoke. "Is it cool if I deal?" he asked, searching for their approval. No one disagreed. "All right then, I guess I'm the dealer." He shuffled the deck and slid seven cars to each person, including himself. "So we all know what the bet is, right?"

The red head smiled. "Of course, I wouldn't play if the bet wasn't worth winning," she said, glancing at the young man. "Don't worry, you'll be happy when I win." An air of confidence surrounded her. "You sound confident," he laughed. Smirking, she replied, "Well, I don't plan on losing, that's for certain."

"Heh," huffed the brunette. "That's what you think. I'll knock you off your high horse. You've never seen my true skills before." The red head stared at her. Not flinching, the brunette returned the stare, ensuing a stare down. "Why don't you two save it for the game?" said the young man calmly, breaking their showdown.

The blonde shuffled awkwardly in her seat. "I must do this in order to accomplish my goal," she spoke to them monotonously, but with a small hint of humanity seeping into her voice. Everyone looked at her. "It's that important, huh? I wonder what kind of goal you have if it depends on winning a poker game," said the boy, laughing. The blonde stared at the table. Looking at him, she said, "It's much more than just a game to me."

Sitting happily watching the others converse, the grey-haired amazon laughed at how the others were getting so worked up over the poker game. After hearing her laugh, they realized that she hadn't said a single word the entire time. She met each one of the girls' eyes. "I want this just as badly as the rest of you do. I will win!" she exclaimed. The brunette's left eye twitched out of annoyance. "What say we stop fighting and just focus on playing the game, m'kay?" he said, trying to calm everyone down.

"I've been meaning to ask you this, but why is it you're participating in the poker game?" asked the red head. "We all share the same reason for playing. You don't really need to play with us." He bashfully scratched the back of his head. "I guess you're right, but I still want to play." He let out a chuckle. "Very well," she responded.

"Unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with this game. Would someone please explain the layout of the rules to me?" asked the blonde, confused at a game played only with cards with pictures on them. Sadly, they weren't even normal cards. The cards were the special "limited edition" Coca-Cola cards with rosy-cheeked and rotund Santa Clauses on them. "It's simple," responded the amazon. "You have seven cards, but you're only allowed to keep five, so you have to discard two. Jokers and twos count as wild cards." She continued to explain the rules to the blonde. "I see. Though I do not fully understand the rules, I will do my best."

Each player picked up his cards, deciding which two to discard. The young man was the first, a grin stretching from one ear to the other. The blonde immediately threw two cards down on top of his. Everyone looked at her for her sudden action. "What? I wish to have my cards near his," she replied, confused about why the others acted so oddly. The brunette sighed and placed two cards down as well. The amazon yawned, laying her two cards in the rest of the stack. The red head was last, but her smile was still unwavering, confident in the cards that she held in her hands.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you ladies, but none of you are gonna win against me with this hand!" the male proclaimed. "So, uh, why don't you all just go ahead and fold?" The sheepish grin that appeared did little to convince them to do so. "If that's the way you want it . . ." He threw his cards down, revealing a pitiful hand of only a pair of threes. "Pretty sweet, huh?"

The girls had to restrain themselves from laughing. The blonde, as spontaneously and weirdly automatic as before, lined her cards up, showing that she only had a triplet of fives. "Does this mean I win?" she asked ecstatically.

"Nope, not with my hand you don't," replied the brunette. Her hand exposed three aces lined up. "Looks like I beat you." A smirk crossed her face. The red head let out a breathful laugh. "What? You have something better?" challenged the brunette.

"Would you expect anything less of me?" the sophisticated red head questioned. The brunette shot her a glare. "My straight crushes your pathetic aces." She flaunted her hand, a six, seven, eight, nine, and a two that acted as a ten due to the wild card rule. She looked at the amazon who was just calmly sitting there, keeping to herself. "Do _you_ have anything better?" asked the red head.

"Now that you mention it . . . I guess I do!" She smiled genuinely. "Look!" she exclaimed. "A royal straight!" The whole party's mouths dropped at once. "No way . . .," mumbled the brunette. "Such luck," whispered the red head. The blonde looked confused. "So I didn't win?" The amazon was still smiling. "So I guess I do win, huh?" she reassured herself.

"All right then, let's go," said the young man as he stood up, offering his arm to the amazon. "Where do you want to go eat tonight?" She stood up and took his arm, whispering in his ear her answer. The two began to head toward the door.

Infuriated at losing, the brunette stood up. "What? Don't want us to know? Afraid we'll show up or something?" she interrogated the two.

He waved it off. "Really, don't get so worked up. It's just a special place to us that's all," he said with a peaceful ease. "We'll play again, and maybe next time you'll win. She was just lucky, that's all."

"Luck can go to hell for all I care," she mumbled spitefully, "and it can drag _her_ with it!" The brunette felt a bit of pressure on her shoulder, as the two left the dormitory. She looked up to see the red head.

"It'll be okay. It's like he said, maybe next you'll win," she reassured. "I mean, it's only a simple date. We play every Sunday for the chance of getting to hang out with him for the whole day." She sighed. "But, it is kind of unusual that she's been on such a winning streak lately . . ."

The blonde looked at the two, arching her head to one side. "Really? I hadn't noticed. I just thought we were on a losing streak . . ." The two looked at each other and laughed.

"Next week?" asked the red head.

"Next week," responded the brunette, shaking each other's hands as a promise that one of them would win the next game.

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**Please R&R if you would so kindly. =)**

**I like praise, don't get me wrong, but feel free to criticize too!! Just, hopefully, not too harshly. =) But I'm always up for improving my writing abilities so if there's anything I can fix or improve just let me know!! =) **


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